(A/N)- I finally wrote a fanfic of my favorite BatB pairing! But, don't give me a medal just yet. It's just a drabble. :P No constructive criticism, please - this was just for fun.
- The Angel and the Fife -
He couldn't believe it. This couldn't have happened. It just couldn't have.
But it did.
Forte was dead, and it was all his fault.
He wiped a tear from his bronze face, sliding down into the pillow of the bed he occupied as a human.
Those were the only tears to be wept for Maestro Forte, he realized sadly. He could understand his master's means for not wanting to be human again. After all, Fife would be in the same position as Forte when they'd make the transformation. Fife had always been overlooked and undervalued. Perhaps he should have perished too.
"Fife?" he heard a voice call, too far away to guess whose it was, but it was definitely feminine. It was most probably Belle.
He hopped off the bed with a clank that seemed to echo quite loudly. He tiptoed as silently as he could, and hid under the bed in the corner next to his night-stand.
Why did he always cause trouble? He nearly killed Belle out there on the lake. He disobeyed and caused the death of the one person who paid any attention to him. He sighed silently and rolled to his side, using his hands, rather, keys, as a pillow.
"Fife?" someone called again, and he recognized it was Angelique's voice. Why would Angelique be looking for him? Their history together was not a good one, not since Fife stumbled and broke a box of ornaments his first year in the castle. She hated him for a long time, but she seemed to forget it eventually- she no longer showed anger towards him but never paid him any attention, as if he was invisible. He'd preferred negative attention over no attention at all, but he was below her. He was just a lowly musician, and a horrible one at that.
A mixture of ice blue and golden yellow aura floated past the door, and stopped. The door creaked as Angelique opened it a little wider to peer in. Fife frowned angrily at himself for leaving evidence that he could be in here.
"Fife?" she called softly, floating into the room. It didn't take long for her to see him there, for she was no higher than the space underneath the bed and Fife realized it a little too late. He should've hid in the hamper.
She looked at him concernedly, and floated over to him. She looked so beautiful and Fife inwardly kicked himself for falling in love with any girl who showed him the littlest bit of attention, excluding Mrs. Potts.
"What is the matter?" she asked kindly, gliding beside him, looking down at him as she held her hands behind her back.
He was too shy to speak. He'd forgotten what the matter was. He just looked at her and his mind was blank.
She sighed, "It is a shame what happened to Forte." She said, "I did not know him very well. I suppose he was simply misunderstood. It was his actions that lead to his downfall, Fife, not yours."
"No," he said angrily in his nasally voice, standing up, "It's everyone's fault for ignoring him! All he wanted was to be appreciated!!" he stopped when he saw she looked taken aback and he realized he was shouting.
"Fife," she said seriously, "I was forgotten for many years, stored away in the attic. But I did not hold a grudge," she said.
"Of course you didn't, 'cause you had friends," he pointed out with a frown, "I was his only friend and he was my only friend. That wasn't good enough for him," he realized, his voice lowering, "I'm a nobody and he was a somebody."
"Don't talk like that!" she snapped, and it was his turn to be taken aback.
"You have friends here, Fife," she said, "You're not alone."
"Yes I am!" he whined a bit, "Just 'cause someone acknowledges me once doesn't make them my friend! I'm a lousy musician, I'm loud and obnoxious, all I do is cause problems! I deserve to have no friends. I didn't deserve Forte as a friend either!"
He stood and hopped away.
"Fife!" she called, as he grabbed onto his sheet and pulled himself onto his bed.
She followed him with an angry sigh, arms folded. She floated beside him as he lay face down in his pillow. He peeked out curiously, then, seeing her, he frowned.
"Go away!" he snapped, lying back onto his pillow, frowning at the ceiling.
"Stop being such a child, Fife." She scolded.
"Just get out of here!" he said louder.
"No one tells me what to do," she said flatly.
He sat up, frowning at her, "What does it matter to you, anyway??"
She froze, "Well ... I ..." she sighed angrily again, "Fife, it's Christmas! I need to be down helping everyone as they are completely useless without me, yet I'm up here trying to cheer you up so that you will come down and join us!" she spat out all in one breath, and twirled around, her back to him as she groaned angrily.
He sat up in bed, looking dumbfounded as he realized she cared about him, maybe if it was only a little bit. Now, he was selfish to think only about himself right now, he realized. He could add that to the list of the other things that were wrong with him.
Angelique sighed, her back still turned to him. "Well, you're doing it again, Fife. You're causing more problems," she turned to him, "and you're going to cause even more if you take longer to just listen to me and come downstairs and have a little fun," she said, trying to suppress a wry grin.
"I won't cause more problems!" he exclaimed earnestly, getting to his feet, trying to muster a small smile, "I'll go downstairs, if it makes you happy ..." he said, blushing slightly.
She raised a brow at him with a mischievous grin, "It will make everyone happy."
He hopped over to her, and she grabbed one of his keys, making him jump, "Come with me. You need to be presentable," she said, and pulled him into the air, surprising him even more.
"I know just the thing!" she said happily, gliding just a few inches off the floor with him. She took both his hands after what used to be his feet had tapped the floor, and Fife blushed. This was the closest he'd ever been to a girl without a girl being repulsed by him. Angelique didn't seem to mind or notice their closeness as she brought him into the bathroom down the hall. She scared him by twirling him a bit in the air with a laugh before setting him down on the floor.
"A bow?" he asked, cringing, "I'll look like a girl!"
She floated down off the sink, holding out the blue ribbon, "It's one of the master's."
"Really?" he asked incredulously, "Well, that's another excuse for me not to wear it!"
"He won't notice or care," she said, and looped it around his neck swiftly, tying it into a big bow, "There!" she said, with a broad grin, "Now, you are ready!"
He looked at her in disbelief before hopping up onto the toilet and onto the sink. He sighed, "I look like a fool,"
Angelique had floated up beside him, and she scoffed, "Do not question my opinions!" she grabbed his shoulder and turned him towards her, fluffing out the bow a bit, "It is not girly!" she exclaimed when he gave her an annoyed look, "It is handsome."
He blushed at that statement, and she laughed, "You really are too much, Fife," and she glided down off the sink, laughing.
"What?" he squeaked, and she just shook her head as the laughter subsided. He hopped down beside her, "How am I 'too much'?" he asked.
"You are in the presence of a pretty woman and all you can do is blush," she shook her head, "how old are you?"
He blushed again, and replied defensively, "Hey, I'm not used to being around girls," he said as he hopped out of the bathroom, "I never had any practice on how to behave around them."
"I am not a girl, I am a woman," she corrected, folding her arms as she glided out after him.
"Same thing," he dismissed, and she grew furious. If he had been looking at her, he would've seen her grow a little red - whether from blushing or anger or both.
She glided quickly up to him and spun in front of him, getting up in his face, "Well, you are just a boy! You are not a man, that's for certain," she 'hmmphed', and turned from him, heading for the stairwell. He followed after in silence as her anger quickly subsided, a strange occurrence for her.
She turned quickly as they got to the top of the stairs, her blue eyes glistening, "Why do you not say what is on your mind?" she asked.
He stepped back, "W-what?"
"You heard me."
"Well, ... that ... t-that's insane!" he squeaked, "If everyone said what was on their mind, all they'd do is make a fool of themself!"
"Ah," she said, putting up a finger, "but not if they know when to say it," she said with a mischievous grin, and twirled around again, stepping down one step.
He shook his head, "I already make a fool of myself without speaking my mind ..." he wanted to hop down the stairs but he couldn't see over his bow. Hesitantly, he knelt down and shimmied himself over the edge of the step, and plopped down beside Angelique. He looked up at her, and laughed nervously.
She sighed, holding out her hands to help him up, "At this rate we'll be down there by next Christmas."
His nose bopped against hers as he stood upright, and he hopped backward in surprise, banging against the side of the railing, "I'm sorry-hehe, big nose you know ..." he blushed a deep red as he looked away, forcing himself to focus on getting down the next step.
Angelique sighed in frustration, and suddenly he felt both sides of his bow being tugged together roughly. For a split second he thought he was going to be strangled, but was shocked to feel Angelique's porcelain lips click against his bronze ones. Sure, it was a strange kiss given the forms they were in, but it was a kiss nonetheless, and it was his first.
She broke free of the kiss almost immediately, her fingers still fisted in his bow. She looked at him with those dazzling blue eyes, and laughed lightly, saying quietly, "Mon deiu, look what you've done to me ..."
He opened his moth to speak, but no words came out.
"Angelique!!" Lumiere's voice beckoned. That snapped them both to reality. She immediately released his bow.
"Coming!" she called back, and floated down the stairs without so much as a second glance at Fife.
He stood there, staring at the spot in midair where she had been standing. He sighed, his shoulders sagging as his eyes fell to the floor. She'd made him forget about Forte, sure, but now his sadness was replaced with a new one that seemed to bear down on his heart more than ever. 'It was a mistake she made, that's all' he thought, 'she only wanted me to feel better ... people give friendly kisses all the time ...'
She suddenly came floating up the stairs again, but she seemed oblivious to the previous events. "Come on now," she ushered, fluffing out his bow before taking him by the key for a hand and pulling him into the air.
"Here he is!" she announced happily, taking him by both hands as she pulled him in front of her, setting him down beside Mrs. Potts. He smiled a dopey smile at Angelique, not fully aware of the objects around him that greeted him.
Angelique winked at him with a smile before flying off to help the others decorate the tree.
(A/N)- Short, yes, and corny, I know. I've had it lying around but never bothered to post. Please, don't make me regret it. :(